Searching MEDLINE via PubMed

Extract

As the volume of biomedical literature has increased, so have the number and complexity of databases that index it. Learning to conduct an efficient literature search in an online database is an essential skill for today's clinical laboratory scientist. This article describes basic and advanced strategies for searching PubMed and the use of specialized features including MyNCBI.

Nearly thirty years ago, William D. Garvey wrote in his seminal work that “communication is the essence of science”.¹ In medicine and the biological sciences, the cornerstone of scientific communication is the scholarly journal article. Although monographs, textbooks, and handbooks are crucial for answering basic background questions and providing a solid foundation in the field, the journal article serves as the primary vehicle for the dissemination of new knowledge. “Publication in a refereed scientific journal marks the completion of a project; that the project's findings have been reviewed and accepted by professional peers signifies acceptance by the scientific community and also certifies a claim on any reported discoveries.”²

The importance of the journal article in science and medicine is borne out in sheer numbers. In 2001, it was reported that over 30,000 biomedical journals are published annually.³ “The total body of medical information doubles every 5 years”,⁴ and with the increasing use of electronic publishing, the pace is accelerating with dizzying speed. There is so much literature published in the health sciences that it's become increasingly impossible to keep up. It is even difficult to keep up with a few personal journal subscriptions.

ABBREVIATIONS: MeSH = Medical subject headings.